Writing Tracker / Integrating Text Structures |
- Objectives:
- To develop writing/thinking fluency and stamina (32 words a minute by high school)
- To develop “focused writing.” (one idea developed with details and examples)
- To develop structures used in informational writing (description, cause and effect, comparison, sequence, problem/solution)
- Activity: Students write for five minutes three or more times a day. They track the number of words they write. Individual writings are stored in a folder or notebook and are regularly charted to determine their progress in writing fluency. Every ten to twenty writings, they reflect on their writings:
- Preparation for students to build writing/thinking fluency:
- Clearing nouns and verbs
- Think/pair/share before writing
- Visualize the ideas for the writing
- A series of five one-minute writings
- Identify specific vocabulary as needed
- Support for students to build focus:
- Remind students to write on one topic and develop it with details and examples.
- Check for performance: After writing, ask students to review what they wrote and underline the topic and three details or examples. They get a star on the top of that paper for having stayed on topic and develop it with details or examples. (They make the star, teachers DO NOT check each paper.)
- Remind students to write on one topic and develop it with details and examples.
- Instruction for students writing in different structures:
- On occasion, students are given the same topic from a content area. They will write for five one-minute segments. Each minute of writing will use a different structure: sequence, description, cause/effect, comparison, and problem/solution.
- Example: We are all writing about the water cycle. First, write for one minute using the sequence structure. Next, one-minute will be to write about the water cycle using description. Etc. This activity can be used only after the students have had instruction on each. The teacher is the artist here and uses the structures that are appropriate for the development of the child and for the content area.
- On occasion, students are given the same topic from a content area. They will write for five one-minute segments. Each minute of writing will use a different structure: sequence, description, cause/effect, comparison, and problem/solution.
- Activities for building writing and thinking skills with students needing greater support:
- Given models of writing/thinking in the content area, first students copy the text and next they are given an opportunity to write about the same topic on their own.
- Brainstorm topics from various content areas
- Identify specific content vocabulary
“Understanding the expository text structures gives readers a better shot at determining important information when reading nonfiction...The text in standardized tests and traditional textbooks frequently falls into one or another of these text structures. If students know what to look for in terms of text structure, they grasp the meaning more easily.”
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Description:
What is description in writing?
DESCRIPTIVE WRITING is the clear description of people, places, objects, or events using appropriate details. An effective description will contain sufficient and varied elaboration of details to communicate a sense of the subject being described.
Resources for Descriptive Writing:
https://litreactor.com/columns/writing-powerful-descriptions
http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/description.shtml
http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/descriptive_writing
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Descriptive-Paragraph
Cause and Effect:
What is cause and effect in writing?
To write a cause and effect, you'll need to determine a scenario in which one action or event caused certain effects to occur. Then, explain what took place and why! This allows us to identify patterns and explain why things turned out the way that they did.
Resources for Cause and Effect:
http://essayinfo.com/essays/cause_and_effect_essay.php
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/cause_effect.htm This article has a great cartoon by Rube Goldberg. Students would enjoy this. (A series of causes leads to the effect of a sharpened pencil.)
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/cause.html
http://www.onestopenglish.com/skills/writing/lesson-plans/writing-skills-cause-and-effect/146333.article (This link has an activity that could probably be adapted for most levels.)
Comparison:
What is comparison in writing?
(1) it allows readers to easily see similarities and differences between two or more sources,
(2) it accurately presents the information from the sources,
(3) it presents the comparison for a purpose (i.e.: it has a thesis).
In addition to helping you decide which of two or more items is more appropriate or more useful, comparison can help you think about the unfamiliar by allowing you to contrast it with something you already know.
http://www.users.drew.edu/~sjamieso/comparison.htm
Resources for Comparison:
http://www.users.drew.edu/~sjamieso/comparison.htm
http://literarydevices.net/comparison/
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/compcont.html
http://library.bcu.ac.uk/learner/writingguides/1.18.htm
Sequence:
What is sequence in writing?
In sequencing, you are writing to describe a series of events or a process in some sort of order. Usually, this order is based on time.
Resources for Sequencing:
http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/tips/paragrap/sequence.htm
http://awritersguidetowords.com/2011/05/10/words-to-indicate-time-order-and-sequence/ (Nice list of sequence and time order words/phrases.)
https://learnzillion.com/lesson_plans/8938-use-signal-words-to-clearly-show-a-sequence-of-events-in-your-writing (Video lesson using signal words for sequence.)
http://www.visualwriter.com/ScriptDr/Advanced/Sequence.htm
Problem/Solution:
What is problem/solution in writing?
In composition, problem-solution is a method for analyzing and writing about a topic by identifying a problem and proposing one or more solutions.
Resource for Problem/Solution:
http://blogs.wp.missouristate.edu/writinglab/rhetoric/problem-solution/
https://e-writing.wikispaces.com/Problem+and+Solution+Paragraph
Other resources:
Article from the NYTimes regarding Writing Structures:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/compare-contrast-cause-effect-problem-solution-common-text-types-in-the-times/?_r=0
http://www.paterson.k12.nj.us/11_departments/language-arts-docs/resources/Reading%20Resources/Text%20Structures/Text%20Structures/Text%20Structures.pdf
http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=11287 This site has lots of useful resources.
Text Structure graphic organizers from http://www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=11287
| text_structure_graphic_organizers.pdf |
The resources below are from The Utah Education Network as well as other related connections and found on //www.uen.org/Lessonplan/preview.cgi?LPid=11287. These are short descriptions of the text structures.
| description |
| sequence |
| compare_and_contrast |
| cause_and_effect |
| problem_and_solution |